Breaking the Ice// Favorite Horror

So to get things started on our new forum, we just wanted to ask you all what is the first horror novel you ever read? And what is your favorite horror novel? No cop outs, we know everyone has one! Let us know!
For Vincent, his first horror novel was The Long Walk by Richard Bachman and his favorite is Misery by Stephen King. It can always get him out of any reading slump, it still makes him cringe, and he enjoys it no matter what mood he is in.
For me, Jessica, the first horror I ever read was Misery by Stephen King (per Vincent's insistence) and my favorite is Little Heaven by Nick Cutter. This book combines so many fun(?)/horrible elements, like gore, mercenaries and religious zealots in a western setting.

Thanks for joining in the discussion and we look forward to seeing what you all have to say!

The first horror novel I read was Frankenstein. My favorite horror novel
is The Shining by Stephen King. I was reading it before one day at work, I happened to pick up a copy on the way to work because it looked interesting. A coworker then gave me Salems Lot. I was hooked!'

My first horror novel was Night Shift by Stephen King.I was 9 years old there was some I didn't quite understand being so young at the time but I got the gist of the stories and haven't looked back My favorite is The Stand by Stephen King because I enjoy end of world novels and just imagining how different people would react in such a scenario.I am proud to say I have been a little dark and twisted ever since.

My first horror novel was probably a Babysitters Club Halloween special haha. My first REAL horror was Stephen King's It. My favourite is.. really hard to pick... So I'll just do another kind of cop out and say IT cus it was my true first that got me hooked on the genre.

I remember trying to read my brother's original huge edition of Stephen King's IT as a kid and knowing I was too young for most of that content! Read the whole thing years later and it is still my favorite Stephen King book. Can't wait for this weekend even though it's been hard for me to imagine anyone upstaging Tim Curry!

My first horror book would be The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. My all time favorite horror novel is Stephen King's IT - not only is it scary, but the character development is outstanding.

My first real horror novel was definitely something by Stephen King. I want to say it was Carrie or Christine. My favorite horror novel is provably IT by Stephen King. I can't wait until the movie comes out!

I don't know that I can pin point a specific favorite. Like everyone else, Stephen King will always be my very favorite author, so, The Stand and The Shining would have to be in my top 5.  But I completely enjoyed Justin Cronin's Passage Trilogy and I love Swan Song by Robert McCammon.  I have always loved horror, I can't honestly remember the first horror book/story I read, there have been so many over the years, but one book that stands out in my memory from when I was younger is Dean Koontz's Intensity.  That was truly a disturbing read.  I could list so many good books, but all I know is I will keep looking for the next great story.

I actually don't remember the first horror book I read, but it was Stephen King. It could have been It. I read all the King books I could lay my hands on. My favorite is It. Or Pet Cemetary. Or The Stand. Or The Shining. Or Salems Lot...

Pet Semetary was my first and remains my favourite.

I'm not sure what the collection was called but it was an H.P. Lovecraft story collection when I was 10 or 11 for my first real exposure to the genre. Favorite? I'd have to say Hell House by Richard Matheson, but it is a tight race among that, House of Leaves, and The Haunting of Hill House. I guess I am just a sucker for a good haunted house novel.

I know the horror snobs won't consider these "real horror" but I consumed every RL Stine, Christopher Pike etc YA book that I could get my hands on with my allowance in middle school or get my parents to buy me. I had shelves upon shelves and how I wish I hadn't donated all of them when I got older. They had such great covers. The first one I read that hooked me was called Fun House but the author escapes me. I know I was in 5th grade which was still elementary school in my area and I used it for a book report and disturbed my teacher. My first King I finished was Misery and it was AWESOME. Pet Semetary will probably always be my favorite horror novel though. It terrifies and wrenches your heart strings at the same time.

Like everyone else, I have a real soft spot for Stephen King. I remember stealing my older brother's first edition copies of It, Different Seasons, and Salems Lot and for the first time ever becoming completely entranced and terrified,  yet I couldn't put them down.  From that point on I fell in love with the horror genre. I would have to say that my favorite(s) would have to be a tie between It and Salems Lot. Ahh, the nostalgia.

I read my first horror book around the age of 9. It was Stephen King's Pet Semetary and I was hooked. I have been a huge Sai King fan from that point on. My favorite would have to be The Dark Tower series. It counts as 1 book because when I read them, I read them all back to back!

I remember reading a scary book in second grade but I can't remember the name of it. For the sake of this the first horror book I read was Revival by Stephen King and my recent favorite is Little Heaven by Nick Cutter!

I read Frankenstein in high school but didn't appreciate it until I read it about 8 years later. The first horror novel I remember falling in love with (and the first one that hooked me on Stephen King) was Cell. It's not one discussed often but I remember being so floored by the world he created and think the beginning is still one of the most horrific openings I've ever red. My favorites change often but right now nothing is as terrifying as The Third Floor by C. Dennis Moore. I came across it randomly and remember getting so engrossed in the story that every little thing made me jump. It is the perfect haunted house story!

My first was not really horror but had horror elements. It was Ray Bradbury Martian Chronicles
That kid of sent me down the reading path I now follow. As for favorite horror book it is a tie between The Stand by Stephen King and a book that he wrote the forward to for the limited edition. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

I've always been fascinated by horror and I think was got me started was reading the "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" trilogy when I was in 4th grade - not a novel but those stories scared the crap out of me then and I wanted to find other things that would do the same! So I went on to reading Goosebumps, Fear Street, Christopher Pike, Peg Kehret, etc. and graduated to Stephen King and his cohorts in high school. My favorite horror novel is probably either "Pet Semetary" (can't get that Zelda out of my head) or "Hex" by Thomas Olde Heuvelt.

I started reading R.L Stine, Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark when I was a child. The first real "adult" horror was Stephen King, Salems Lot. I watched more horror movies then read at first but ended up hooked on books after my mom became Librarian

My first would be Haunted Mask by R.L. Stine as a kid and my favorite is Dead City by Joe McKinney because I love zombies and his books are really good. I didn't say King because I just started reading his stuff this year and have only read Cell and The Gunslinger both of which I enjoyed but I have a ton of his books just waiting to be read on my shelf.

The first horror book that stuck with me was IT. I still have my original paperback from when I was 13. Now my 13 yr old daughter is reading IT, & cant wait to see it Friday!!!
From then I've read everything King. It's hard to pick other favorite but The Stand, The Shining, Dr Sleep, The Gunslinger books and most recently Area X (Southern Reach Trilogy). Too hard to pick just one.

First horror was Salem's Lot. I fell in love with horror and stephen kings writing style. I couldn't put it down until completed and then read again!! I was around 12 yrs old. Favorite book is harder but i would say The Stand...

My obsession with reading didn't happen until later I started High School. But my first horror books were the Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shan. It was as easy introduction. But never really dived more into horror books until most recent years. Where I started reading Stephen King. As a big movie Horror fan I was surprise I didn't really dived into horror books and this years goal for me me is to consume all the horror books that I can.

Have have yet to read as many horror novels people have read here. But the one that really changed everything for me and made me really want to dive into more horror is "It" for me. Because this book didn't only show me that a horror book is about monsters. But it's also about the cruelty about people, the development about characters, and so much more than a monster of the week. There is so much richness to this book. I hope to read more horror books in the future to discover more favorites.

(We should should have author discussion threads to share their awesome book recommendations and our favorite books from them. )

My first horror story was probably the Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe. First full-length horror novel was probably Frankenstein.

Favorite horror novel? That's a really hard question. I adore Shadow Child by Joe Citro, and I'm always up for a reread of the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft. Ohhhh and The Shining is definitely up there as well. I don't think I could ever name just one . . .

First, the fact that this forum is up is so exciting! I've never participated in one before, so I apologize if I am doing this wrong, but this really is so neat.

ANYWAY: My first horror novel was Carrie by Stephen King (Though I definitely have to give a shoutout to R.L. Stine/Goosebumps - if it wasn't for him I may never have fell in love with reading as a kid). My favorite horror is Needful Things, though, also by King (Duma Key and Misery are close seconds).

I read tons of mildly creepy books in Middle school, loads of R.L Stine and 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' ghost stories. My first true horror book was when I was 10/11 yo and it was Stephen King's, 'Pet Cemetery' and my favorite (so far) is 'Misery'.

My first horror read wasn't a novel so not sure if it counts. Anyway, when I was about 8 or 9 to old I read In A Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories. Not all of the stories were that scary but The Girl With the Green Ribbon freaked me out and to this day I can't get over it, but that's really where I fell in love with horror. A few years later at about 11yo, I read Dean Koontz's Tick Tick and that is officially my favorite horror book.

I am not sure what my first horror novel was, but I remember what my first King novel was and it's Cell, so that might be my first horror novel as well. My favorite is Summer of Night by Dan Simmons.

My first horror novel was either The Shining or Pet Sematary, I bought them both at the same time so I can't really remember which was first.

As for my favorite Christine by King has always stayed with me.

The first horror I remember reading is The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe, in 5th grade...been a fan ever since.

The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft is probably my favorite Horror story...I can't think of anything else that has disturbed me more!

Also, The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell is one of the most beautifully written zombie/horror/post-apocalyptic novels ever.

My first horror novel was from school readings because there were no horror aficionados in my family so my first exposures were Poe (The Tell-Tale Heart), Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray), and Bradbury (Something Wicked this Way Comes). I also found the Gothic style of writing about the same time and I was hooked on the dark and different! A favorite is a tall order because on the one hand I love the Shining and It by King but I have a true appreciation for Koontz's Odd and Frankenstein series. Okay yeah I can't pick just one.

ChrisL wrote:My first horror book would be The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.  My all time favorite horror novel is Stephen King's IT - not only is it scary, but the character development is outstanding.  

I see several of us have mentioned it but you mentioned one of the primary reason it was a favorite of mine: The character development! He does such a beautiful job bringing them to life.

Not really horror but the first book that scared me was the Wizard of Oz. I was about 7 years old and loved the way reading that whole series made me feel. Been reading horror ever since. My favorite horror novel is The Stand.

My first horror novel was Frankenstein. My mom got me the Wishbone paperback (if anyone remembers thats show ) for my 8th birthday. Even though there was a tiny drawing of a jack russel terrier saying witty things in the corner of each page it was still terrifying and heartbreaking.Picking a favorite is hard! I'll say Red Dragon because it still creeps into my head at night and makes me check all the locks in the house.

My first horror reads (can't remember which novel I read first from the series) were the novels from the Dark Forces series. Dark Forces was an anthology horror series aimed at YA in the 80's. Those creepy binge-worthy novels were everything to me, but unfortunately they are out of print today.

My all-time favorite horror novel is Stephen King's Salem's Lot.

The Long Walk and Salems Lot were actually my first couple King books as a kid. Haven't stopped since. Salems lot is one of my all time faves!

I am going to go out on a limb here and say I am probably the only person here that isn't a Stephen King fan...

I read IT for the 1st time when I was 10. I was destroyed and reborn stronger and a better human. Currently loving Bentley Little...would love to see him in a box sometime!

My first horror novel was The Shining. My favorite is The Stand. The most gruesome book I've ever read is Offspring by Jack Ketchum.

Ka of 17 wrote:I read IT for the 1st time when I was 10. I was destroyed and reborn stronger and a better human. Currently loving Bentley Little...would love to see him in a box sometime!

I tried to get into Bentley Little but I just can't.

My first exposure to spooky was with story records that were played to us during quiet time at school. I'm sure the 'Green Ribbon' story Roxy cited earlier was the same one I remember like it was yesterday!
I also listed to story records of Poe stories, original versions of European fairy tales, and Alfred Hitchcock stories.
For books, I found The Flowers in the Attic to be creepy, I don't know if it's really horror or not. Honestly, I haven't read a lot of horror outside of the occasional S.K. book. The NRB is so valuable to me because of the quality of the curation. Hooray Horror!

I'm sad to say that I didn't pick up horror novels until I was in my 20s. Before that, the books I read that most fit the genre were the 'Coldfire' books, by C.S. Friedman. Gerald Tarrant remains one of my favorite characters with an evil bent.

After falling for horror movies, I realized I could do the same for novels in the genre, and I joined the now-defunct (and, sadly, reviled) Leisure Books reading club. Since then, I've read many a good horror book, and it's hard to pick a favorite. Two titles that really stand out for me are William Sloane's "To Walk the Night" and "At the Edge of Running Water". Those two snuck into my psyche and exposed me to some of the colder corners in our universe.

Oux wrote:I am going to go out on a limb here and say I am probably the only person here that isn't a Stephen King fan...

That can be a precarious perch to take . . . so let me join you. I think that "The Shining" is brilliant and moving; the other six or seven of his novels that I read has a much softer impact. He writes good prose and he draws you in, yet his resolutions to his stories have often left me wanting.

All this said, I am certain I will read more of his work.

jeffingoff wrote:I tried to get into Bentley Little but I just can't.

Totally understandable! His stuff gets pretty formulaic/repetitive (here is a seemingly normal thing...oh wait, something's a little off...oh wait something is REALLY off...probably a demon of some sort). The formula just works for me!

I wanna say my first horror book was Communion by Whitley Striber, not sure if that counts but that book terrified me. Huge alien on the cover too, I would always place it face down.

Favorite, The Shining by Stephen King. The part with the topiarys, Lord, I mean, it shook me LITERALLY. Still spooks me now even just talking about it. I fell for King HARD with that book.

I can't honestly say what I started with. I remember reading the Fear Street books by RL Stine, and stuff by Christopher Pike when I was 8 or so. When I was ten I was introduced to King via The Eyes of the Dragon and then moved on to Cujo and Carrie, so those were my first true "horror". I also started on John Saul, Dean Koontz and Robert McGammon around that time as well. I can't pick just one, but the one's I go back to time and again are The Stand and IT (although I am a compulsive King rereader).

Noelle_Reads wrote:... I also started on John Saul, Dean Koontz and Robert McGammon around that time as well.

I love McGammon. I'm working my way through his older repertoire while watching out for the new stuff (though I haven't read any of the Corbett books, yet). I thought his recent novel, "The Five", was wonderful.

I'm not sure I can pinpoint when I started reading horror. The first movies my mom and I watched together were horror. I accidentally crawled into my neighbor's house and watched Interview with a Vampire while my neighbor was passed out on the couch. This is just in my blood now. But the first experience I can recall reading horror is probably Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier. The atmosphere had me hooked.

My favorite is probably House of Leaves (which I'm rereading for the first time this month). I'm a sucker for a haunted house, and I love horror that skirts the psychological theme.